Renton is one of eight cities to win a 2022 Washington state Governor’s Smart Communities Award, specifically the Smart Vision Award, which is given to cities with outstanding comprehensive plans, subarea plans or planning policies. This is Renton’s ninth win, making it the top earning city in the state, said April Alexander, executive assistant to Renton Mayor Armondo Pavone.

Along with Hoqiuam, Renton recieved the Smart Vision Award for the city’s Rainier/Grady Junction Tranist-Oriented Development Subarea Plan. The Governor’s Smart Communities Award is given each year to “local governments and their partners for exceptional work in implementing the state’s Growth Management Act (GMA) to shape future growth, economic vitality and quality of life in communities across Washington.”

According to a press release from the state’s Department of Commerce, Renton’s subarea plan has provided “a vision and strategies to guide growth and achieve a holistic, people-oriented mixed-use neighborhood around Sound Transit’s planned bus rapid transit line and transit center.” The subarea plan was adopted in Nov. 2021 and is an ongoing project for the city.

“With so many good examples of creative and collaborative planning in our state, it is hard to select ‘winners’,” said Commerce Director Lisa Brown. “Local communities are employing a wide variety of strategies, tools and ingenuity to develop their own unique answers to the challenges of equitable and sustainable growth and economic development.”

Since the Governor’s Smart Communities Award launched in 2006, Renton has won awards for the City Center Community Plan and its 20-year Parks Plan in 2012, the Sunset Area Community Plan in 2013, the Meadow Crest Early Learning Center and Meadow Crest Accessible Playground in 2014, the Kirkland Avenue Townhomes in 2015, the Downtown Renton Library in 2016, the Galvanizing Art Project in 2017, the Sartori Elementary School in 2018 and last year in 2021 for Willowcrest Townhomes.